Pandora's Box
by Twipotterfreak28
Summary: When a man accidentally-on-purpose plunges the wizarding world into a zombie apocalypse, Hermione and her daughter try to get to the only known human civilization left. Little does she know, there's another trying to do the same thing. "You can kill me," He chuckled, my blade digging into his neck. "But I think you'd miss me, Granger. If you think you have the nerve, I dare you."
1. Prologue

_Hey guys! I'm back! I'm hoping you'll join me in this story- I have been excited about this for months, and I wrote the first chapter last year- and review. Thanks!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing you may recognize. The introduction of muggle objects in this story is necessary for the survival of the characters. Lets be honest- even if you're the brightest witch of your generation, could you take out a hundred zombies with just a wand before they eventually overpowered you?_

_Pairings: standard canon pairing backgrounds, though Astoria and Ron are barely present in this story. Of course, it will end up as a Dramione story with a happy ending, but these characters are going to have to work for it. 'Cause that's just what I do. Rose is Hermione and Ron's daughter, Hugo does not exist, and Scorpius is Draco and Astoria's son. Again, dramione will happen, so if that's not your cup of tea, I suggest you visit some other author's coffee shop. _

**(Hermione POV)**

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**_Prologue_**

**_~4 weeks into the Plague~_**

* * *

I set Rose down near tree and activated her necklace, telling her to sit quietly while I looked around. We were taking a bathroom break, but I wasn't about to do so without checking for the infected first.

"You-" I turned and a half decomposed, disgusting-looking zombie trudged toward me, nearly scratching me with its fingernails. It tried to speak to me, but all it could say was 'you' over and over. I couldn't tell who the zombie was when it was uninfected, but I decided it was male, because it was so damn tall. "YOU."

"Merlin!" I dodged its hands as I pulled out my knife, instantly regretting leaving my bag of weapons by the tree. It looked like the rotter was alone, so at least I wasn't in too much trouble. "Alright, come here, you."

"Y-" It started to say again, but I kicked it square in the chest and grunted as it fell backward with a thud. I got on top of it and made to stab it through the head, but the rotter latched onto my hair and began to pull my face closer to his mouth, trying to rip off my flesh. "YOU-"

I took my knife and cut off the part of my hair he had latched onto, watching as a good six inches of wavy brown hair fell with his hand to the ground. It confused the rotter for a moment, so I took my opportunity.

"AGH!" I screamed as I plunged my knife into the eye socket of the rotter over and over. Even though it was already dead, I put my entire weight on its forehead until it cracked all the way through, just to be sure. "Bloody hell."

"M-Mama?"

"Hold on, honey." I stood up and serveyed the area, just to be sure the rotter was actually alone. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it was. "Rose, sweetie, it's okay. You can come out now." I knelt down on the ground and opened my arms. My daughter reappeared with her hands clutched tightly on the necklace she wore and ran straight into my arms, her face burrowing into my neck. I rubbed her back and stood up. "It's alright now. Mummy's sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay." She whispered. "I had my eyes closed."

"You want to show me?" I said gently. She pulled back, still in my arms, and covered her eyes with her hands, her mouth set into a tight line. I tapped her nose and she stopped. "Good girl."

"Daddy?" She questioned.

She had taken to asking one question sentences when it came to Ron, since I would never answer her questions about him thus far. I knew he was a part of the first infected in a successful attempt to save Rose from a zombie that had gotten into the house, and although I had hope the uninfected humans would create a cure that actually worked, I wasn't about to tell Rose the truth about her father. I had no idea if he was still alive in his own body somewhere, but if he was, it would feel wrong to say that he was never coming back.

I tried to keep hope, anyway.

"I don't know." I pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. "I don't know."

"I miss daddy." She hiccuped, and I could feel the beginnings of many tears on my shoulder. "Where's Uncle Harry? And Auntie Ginny? And Jamie and Al and Lily?"

I smiled slightly. She was getting better with names and her memory, and now knew every one of the Weasley/Potter family by heart. Considering there were around 30 of us directly, I was quite proud of my four year old.

"They're waiting for us in a safe place, sweetie. We just have to get there."

"When?" She looked at me questioningly, her large brown eyes exact copies of my own.

"Soon, Rose." I patted her on the back, slipped my purse over my head, and began walking north again. "We'll be there really soon."

I walked with her in my arms until the sun was almost completely set, the last few rays of sunlight stretching over the hills. I found a high, sturdy tree on a small hill and decided that was where we would sleep for the night; I hadn't seen any of the infected in a mile or two. Individually, they were too unfocused to climb a tree or look for food there, but a group might be able to, theoretically; if a group came along, the wards would give me enough time to get rid of them. After making Rose climb onto my back and hold onto my shirt, I began casting the wards that would keep us hidden, and the wards that would alert me to anyone's presence. They were designed to keep out anyone without a magical signature- something the infected can't control and eventually fades- and would shock you if you tried to break through, but that wouldn't stop a cluster of zombies. Sure, the first few that threw themselves at the wards would probably perish, but the force of their bodies would break them, leaving a hole through which other zombies could get to us. But again, I had enough ammo at the moment to finish 200 of them, so I wasn't particularly worried.

After all of the wards were set and Rose was holding onto me securely, I cast charms on my hands and feet and began to climb up the tree. Around ten feet up there were two thick, long branches, upon which I set our things. After taking out the sleeping pad and making it its original size, I stuck it to the tree with a charm and laid Rose down on top of it, her blanket over her chest. I took my glock out of my bag, undid the shrinking charm and loaded it with ten bullets, setting it near the base of the branch just in case I needed to use it.

"Alright, come here, my sweet girl." I said gently as I laid down on the pad. Rose immediately crawled over to my side and clutched the bottom of my jacket, her long red hair splaying wildly around her face. I tucked her hair behind her ear and put my left arm around around her, my right behind my head. "We don't have to practice your words tonight, but we will tomorrow, alright? You're doing so well."

"Okay." She yawned. "Mama, sing me a song? Please?"

"Alright, but only a short one." I sighed, and began to sing a soft version of 'Beautiful Dreamer'.

"No! A Christmas song, Mama." I could tell she was almost asleep, and though it was the middle of July, I began to sing the first few verses of 'Silent Night'.

Halfway into the song, I stopped abruptly when I heard a rustling from a distance away. I would not have bothered to listen to it, but the sound was getting closer and closer. It sounded like feet.

A lot of feet. Running.

As quickly as I could, I gently set Rose down onto the sleeping pad by herself, activated the invisibility charm in her necklace, and climbed towards the base of the branch. I grabbed an automatic weapon out of my bag- thankful for hidden expansion charms- and loaded it, just as a single person came running over the hill. I didn't immediately shoot, because if there was one zombie running, it was running _for_ something or _from_ something.

Sure enough, about ten zombies came trudging up the hill, running as fast as they could after the first. I took aim and was about to shoot down the first zombie, when he gave a horrified scream.

Zombies didn't scream like that. Either this zombie was barely just infected, or... No... I hadn't seen another human being for weeks. It couldn't be.

The herd of zombies was getting close to the tree and the edge of my wards, so I aimed for the second's head, pulled the trigger, and shook my gun from side to side. One by one they fell to the ground until there was just one left, who had caught the first, solitary zombie by the arm and was frantically trying to sink its teeth into it.

The might-be zombie was screaming bloody murder, so I knew something was up. I climbed down from the tree and aimed for the zombie that looked rotted instead of the screaming one, and with a single bullet in its eye, it was on the ground, finished.

The only one left- the one that might have been a zombie or might not have been- stood there for a moment. It was too dark to see anything but the shape of its body. I reloaded my gun and pointed it at him.

"You have five seconds to convince me not to kill you, rotter." I said, wondering if this rotter still had the ability to speak a normal language.

"N-No! Please! I-I'm not infected- I'm human!" It pleaded with me, falling to its knees onto the ground.

It sounded vaguely familiar. "Get up." I told it harshly, unbelieving. I was still shrouded in the darkness of night, but there a bit of moonlight that shone onto the ground in front of me. "Take three steps forward, slowly. No sudden movements or it won't be pretty for you."

It started to whimper and got up, taking slow steps forward until I could clearly see its terrified face.

"Ah, hell." I groaned, pointing my gun at the ground and clicking the safety back on. "Of all the no good, rotten people who could have turned up, it had to be you."

"What?" He asked, still scared and panicked. "I-I don't know what you're-"

I gritted my teeth and took a step closer to him, making myself seen.

"Shit." He cursed.

Draco _bloody_ Malfoy. Whoop-dee-doo.

_Should have shot him when you had the chance, Granger._

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**A/N:** _Boy, am I excited about this story! Most of it is prewritten, save for the last few chapters, so there shouldn't be more than a week between updates this time. I'm going to shoot for updates every Sunday after this. So... Do I have any passengers willing to climb aboard the story train with me? **-Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28**_

**P.S.-** _This story won't be too graphic, for those of you wondering. Sure, they'll be some good ol' fashion zombie killing, but no massive blood baths or horror like that. Also, I'm still on my relentless search for a good, reliable beta. Any takers? Email me at the address found on my profile, and head on over there for laughs._


	2. Chapter 1

_I'm hoping to get a bit more of a response from you guys._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing you may recognize._

**(Hermione POV)**

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**Chapter One: Preparation**

**_~1 week before the Plague~_**

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"Did you hear, 'Mione?" Ron sat on the couch, drinking a glass of butterbeer as Rose sat on his feet, playing with his shoelaces.

"Hear what?" I had just walked in the door with groceries in my hands and began to put them away.

"About the rise in zombie numbers, of course." He told me. "They predict it'll be two months before it turns into an infestation, but I don't believe them. It's just another hoax someone like Rita Skeeter cooked up."

I dropped the glass of milk I had in my hands, glass shards and liquid shooting onto the floor.

"Hermione!" Ron picked up Rose and set her on the couch, carefully walking over to me. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you."

"I..." I stuttered, my memory from 3 weeks ago drawing me from the present.

_I walked through the atrium of the ministry on the way to my office, when a screaming man was dragged through the crowd towards the elevators._

_"Get your hands off of me!" He shouted, cackling maniacally. "You'll all see, I tell you! Every last one of you!"_

_He looked as if he hadn't slept in a week and had neglected to shower just as long, and there was a madness in his eyes I could not describe. He looked at me specifically for a moment as he walked past me._

_"It'll be a shame to see you as one of them, beautiful." He told me. "Maybe the zombie infestation will treat you well."_

_As he walked away with an evil-sounding laugh, I found that my blood had turned cold. He hurried home and researched as much as I could about a possible rise of the undead, but found nothing. No media reports, speculations... nothing._

"Hermione?" Ron shook me gently, concern lacing his voice. "Hello?"

"I... I'll be right back." I said quietly, hurrying out the door.

"Wait, where are you-"

I ran across the street and pounded on my neighbor's door. "Mr. Thomas! Mr. Thomas!" I yelled.

The door opened swiftly and I was pulled inside, much to my surprise. I landed on the hardwood floors as Mr. Thomas pointed his gun at me. "Girl, what're you doin' bangin' on my door? Don't you know I'm armed?" He lowered his weapon and helped me up. "Now, what do you be needin'?" His deep, southern accent still threw me for a loop sometimes, but I shook it off.

"Did you hear?" I asked him. He nodded and began to walk down to his basement, motioning me to come with him. "They say it'll only be two months before-"

"I give it five days." He grunted. He unlocked the door and set his gun onto the table that stood in the middle of the dimly lit room. For a man of 72, he was still extremely intimidating. "So, what can I do ya for?"

"Where do we go when it happens?" I looked around the room and saw multiple cabinets lining the walls. "I mean... no one believes it's going to happen. What do we do? How do we survive?"

"Easy. You kill." He shrugged, turned, and opened one of the cabinets. He then set 6 or 7 massive guns next to his own. "Do ya know how to shoot?"

"I know the basics..." I was shocked by just how many weapons he had here. "I could manage a pistol easily, but what you have here..."

"Listen, I won't be needin' them. I don't plan on escaping- I just plan on findin' the bastard that killed my Lucy, and after that, they can have me."

Another thing about Mr. Thomas. He was widower, for his wife had been killed 6 years earlier when a zombie the ministry had been experimenting on got out and killed twelve people. His wife, Lucy, was one of them, and so he was planning on beheading the zombie that killed her. He even got a job at ministry in the experimental magic division so he could locate it. He knew where it was, so all he had to do was wait for the ministry to panic enough that he could sneak in and kill it. He was the only reason I knew about the impending apocalypse, because he told me when experimentation finally went wrong after I worked with him on finding more about the magic composition of house elves.

"So, you're giving these to me?" I questioned. He nodded. "Why? I don't know how to shoot half of them."

"I've seen ya with your family, girl. The way you are with that red-head and that little girl of yours." He smiled fondly. "Family like that deserves a chance to see next year, I reckon'."

I nodded, thankful. "Um, alright. But if it's really only five days away, how am I going to learn how to use all of this?" I motioned with my arms to the table.

"The way I see it, it's like eatin' a sandwich." He picked up two guns and looked at me. "Take this gun, for example. Let's say this one's a good ol' fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and this one here is a turkey sandwich. You eat them both in a similar way, but sometimes there's differences. One is heavier, one is messier, and one is quicker to eat. You get what I'm sayin'?"

"I think so?" I scratched my head. We went from guns to sandwiches, and I suddenly wasn't sure this man had everything in order upstairs.

"You know, for a smart girl, you sure can be slow sometimes." He rolled his eyes. "The guns I'm givin' you aren't too different from each other. Some load differently and shoot a little stronger than others, but it shouldn't be too hard to learn. It'll take... Maybe three hours. Can you be here tomorrow mornin'?"

"I can be here at 6, yes."

"Good. Now help me up the stairs and get out."

Mr. Thomas was a very nice man, but he also enjoyed his privacy and had a very forward way of making sure you knew it. On the way up the stairs with him holding onto my arm for support, we passed many pictures of him, his wife and his son. Lucy had been a very beautiful brunette and she and Mr. Thomas had been married for 50 years. Their marriage had been arranged for them at 15 and 17 after Mr. Thomas moved permanently to Hogsmeade, during a time when arranged marriages were still the norm, as he had told me. They had only been able to have one child, a boy they named Anthony, and were happy with that. I think their son was 40 or so and lived in Scotland, for her came around every so often and had a slight accent when I heard him speak.

"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Thomas?" I said as he opened the front door for me.

He sighed. "Go ahead."

"Why didn't you go back to Texas after your wife passed?" I asked carefully.

He gripped the door a little tighter and his eyes seemed to fade. "Goodbye, Miss Hermione." He closed the door slowly, leaving me standing on the porch.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, turning away from the door and heading back to my own home.

"Hermione, what were you doing in there?" Ron ran out to meet me and checked me over for injuries while Rose sat in the yard, playing with an aged Crookshanks. "You know that man gives me the creeps."

"It's... We need to talk about what's going to happen, Ron."

"To who?" He asked confusedly.

I looked at Rose and in that moment, it seemed like reality crashed down on me. The apocalypse was real- and it was coming for us sooner than expected. "To everyone."

(Draco POV)

_"On behalf of your Ministry, this is Senior Auror Contessa Perkins..."_

I turned off the radio as Astoria held Scorpius, quieting him to sleep. I laid back and sighed, and my wife looked at me pointedly.

"Wat are we going to do?" She asked, rocking our son in her arms. "Whether or not what they're saying is true, I think we should be prepared."

"I know." I told her. "There has been talk of safe places, and I believe Hogwarts is one of them. Don't you have a friend there?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Ramona Bells. She works as the transfiguration professor now."

"In a few days, why don't you go visit her? If something happens and alarms are sent out, you'll already be there; otherwise, go to Hogwarts. They're not going to let Ministry employees off of work for a potential crisis, so I don't know where I'll be. But if I'm not with you, go to Hogwarts and I will meet you there."

"And if Hogwarts isn't as safe as we think it is?" Astoria asked gravely, holding Scorpius a little tighter.

I blanched, lost for words. I stroked Scorpius's head and looked at her sadly. "We do what we can to stay safe. If you get to Hogwarts and it isn't safe, come back to the house and get in the basement. I'll come back and get you both. But if it is safe and I'm not there, don't go looking for me. I'll meet you there soon."

"Okay." She sniffed, wiping her eyes and standing up, shifting our son to her hip. "I'm going to go put him down for a nap."

"Alright." I patted her arm as she walked by me. I honestly couldn't believe what the Senior Auror had been saying.

_"The zombie population has gotten dangerously large in the past 4 to 6 weeks, and it seems as though there is a new, infectious strain of the zombie disease. It resides on the the teeth of the infected and is transmitted by bite. If you come into contact with an infected witch or wizard, do not approach them. Defend yourself by any law-abiding means necessary, or call the aurors to help you. Should this situation get out of hand- something we do not anticipate, but must prepare for- you will be directed to a safe place and tested for the virus before being allowed access to other people and materials. Act with caution and above all, keep yourself and your families safe. More information will be broadcasted within the next several days."_

If they were preparing the entire country for an outbreak of an infectious disease, you knew it was coming. You knew to be worried. You knew, in all reality, that you were not safe, no matter if you did or didn't think you were.

I had been asked to work for the Ministry in the experimental potions division 8 weeks ago after resigning from my post as potions master at Hogwarts, so I had heard talk of an outbreak for a while now. The experimental magic department was only two doors away from the experimental potions division, and there was a man who worked there that had been speaking of an apocalypse for weeks. I'd seen he and Granger speaking and even having lunch together once, which admittedly had peaked my interest. Not in her- Merlin, no- but in the man. He seemed to know something the rest of us didn't.

"What of your parents?" I snapped back to reality to see Astoria standing beside the sofa, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. "Should this happen, what will become of them?"

"My parents are not allowed anywhere near Hogwarts, so I have no clue." I told her honestly. I motioned for her to come over and she sat down on my lap, her arms around my neck. "I assume he has a survival plan worked out, though. He's awfully paranoid nowadays. Regardless of the fact that he is a cruel bastard with no sense of boundaries or morality, he loves my mother. If he hasn't got a way to save himself, I'm willing to gamble that he will find a way to save her."

Astoria nodded. "I just... You never expect these things to happen."

"We'll be alright." I said, more to assure myself than her. "But for the mean time, I want you to have a bag packed for Scorpius should the need arise, and if you would, ask one of the elves to temporarily move him into our bedroom. I don't want him across the Manor should alarms be sent out."

"Yes, dear." She kissed my cheek and stood up. "What are you going to do?"

I already had my cloak on and was heading toward the fireplace. "Visit a friend. I'll be back shortly."

The last thing I saw before green flames engulfed me was my wife, waving worriedly to me with fear in her eyes.

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**A/N: **_I know in the last chapter I said I would update on Sundays, but I meant Wednesdays. Clearin' that on up. Okay, I'm slowly getting my ass in gear, but this is a big week for me. Exams started and I'm flailing around, trying to get through it. Thank you to those who reviewed in the first chapter. Next chapter is the day of the infestation, where we will be speeding things along. Please review, as it really does make my day. Thanks for reading. **-Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28**_


	3. Chapter 2

_Some guest reviews. Extremely annoying that I can't reply to them. Just get an account! It's free! To the person who thought there was another story titled the same as mine, about the same thing, no there isn't. I don't steal from other FanFiction authors. If there is, it is extremely coincidental, as I wrote most of this story 6 months ago on my phone and have been planning this story for at least 8 months. So no, and I'm actually slightly offended by that. Sorry. _

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing you may recognize._**

**(Hermione POV)**

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**Chapter Two: Infestation**

**_~0 weeks before the Plague~_**

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"Well Miss Hermione, I think you've learned everythin' I can teach you." Mr. Thomas nodded as he took the glock I was holding and stuffed it into my duffel bag.

"Thank you, again." I replied, extremely gracious that he had taken the time to teach me to defend myself.

"Don't mention it." He waved me off. "But I do ask one thing of you in return."

"Anything, Mr. Thomas."

"If he isn't dead and you ever see my son... Tell him that-"

He was cut off as his radio began to buzz and static filled the room. We both nervously moved closer to it, just as the Minister's frantic voice came across the radio.

_"This is NOT a drill! Zombies are terrorizing Hogsmeade and its surrounding areas, and are quickly heading in all directions! Defend yourself by any means necessary! I repeat, this is NOT a drill!" _The radio frequency began to fade out, until it was nothing but jumbled words. _"S-afe... -aces... H-ogwar... -inistry... Safe-" _The radio cut out just as the Minister screamed.

Mr. Thomas and I looked at each for half a second before we finally moved.

"GO!" He pushed me toward the door. "Get your bag and get to your family! Go to Hogwarts, now!"

"But Mr. Thomas, you-"

"Don't you worry about me! JUST GO!"

I grabbed my duffel bag off of the table, slung it onto my back, gave a last glance to Mr. Thomas, who was already grabbing his rifle and putting on his shoes. I nodded and hauled myself up the stairs as fast as I could. Without thinking about what I was doing, I grabbed the small spell book off of the entryway table and shoved into my bag. I opened my door to find people out on the streets, panicking and apparating away with their families. I ran across the street and stopped in the middle of the road as I heard a sound.

The way my neighborhood was set, you could see about ten miles down the main road. I could see a crowd of grey, moaning zombies terrorizing my streets and running towards me. I gasped and ran straight into my house.

"RON! RON!"

"We're in here- _Damn it!_" I ran into the living room to see my husband and daughter standing by the fireplace. "The floo to Hogwarts won't work!"

"Oh Merlin." I mumbled. The zombies were getting closer and they'd already closed the floos. "Can we still apparate?"

"It's the only choice we have! Come on!" Ron yelled, scooping Rose into his arms and running towards the door, calling my name and telling me to hurry.

When we stepped outside, the zombies were only about 5 miles away and gaining. Ron and I started to run towards the end of the street where the apparation point was, as you could not apparate directly in front of your house anywhere anymore, as robberies and rapes were becoming more frequent. The zombies picked up speed and were 300 feet away from us.

"_BLOODY_-" A zombie swiped for Ron and Rose but missed them by an inch.

"Incendio!" I set the zombie on fire as we reached the apparation point, and immediately grabbed hold of Ron and Rose. I apparated us all away just as a zombie lunged for us. We landed in front of Hogwarts where a large crowd of people all ready stood, screaming and pleading to be granted access to the school. Ron and I pushed through the crowd until we reached the locked gate, where several aurors stood, trying to calm the crowd.

"Let us in!" Ron screamed at one of them.

"Calm down! You have to be tested for the disease before we can let you into the grounds!" He replied.

There were several hundred people all ready inside Hogwarts, and a familiar face came running down the pavement until he reached us.

"_Harry!_" I exclaimed. "Harry, do something, please! They're coming and they won't let us in!"

"I know, we're trying to get things moving but it's chaos around the country!" Harry reached through the bars and grabbed my hand and Ron's shoulder. "I'll get you all through, all right? Just... Give me five minutes!"

"I don't think we have that long before the zombies get here, mate!" Ron yelled at him as he began to run back up to the school. "Bloody hell. Hermione... We may just have to cut our losses and come back around the other way."

"What?!" I gasped. "Ron, by the time we get to the back entrance, it'll be swarming with zombies! We can't do that!"

"Just look!" He pointed behind me and I looked to see hoards of zombies climbing over the hill and heading our way. "We can't stay here; we have to go!"

"Where?" I had to yell to make my voice heard over the screaming people. We pushed our way to the back so that when we apparated, we wouldn't take anyone else with us.

"To some place deserted- maybe the Forbidden Forest. Some place where there aren't any humans and no reason for zombies to be present." We finally moved far enough to the back to apparate, and the zombies were dangerously close. "Okay, let's-"

"Daddy, look!" Rose jumped out of Ron's arms and began to clumsily walk toward the zombies.

"ROSE!" Ron panicked, he and I running to get her before a zombie could, Ron having a head start.

At the very moment a zombie grabbed rose by the tips of her hair, Ron threw himself at it and knocked her a good 10 feet out of the way. I picked up a now crying rose as Ron kicked the zombie in the face, and two more began to descend on him. We were too far away from each other for me to run to him, and with Rose in my arms, I could barely cast a spell without hurting my husband.

I tried, though.

"INCENDIO!" I screamed and the zombie picking at Ron's clothing sprung back, engulfed in a blaze. I did the same with the one trying to bite his face. "Come on, Ron! Hurry!"

"I can't!" He fought back another zombie and I saw that four more were 10 seconds away from getting to him. "You... Go without me! Take Rose and GO!"

"I'm not going to leave you!"

"HERMIONE, GO! _GO!_" He looked at me one last time, and mouthed 'I love you'.

"Shit- I love you, too!" I cried, holding Rose tightly as the world began to spin, Ron's screams being the background noise to my and my daughter's exit.

* * *

**(Draco POV)**

_"This is NOT a drill! Zombies are terrorizing Hogsmeade and its surrounding areas, and are quickly heading in all directions! Defend yourself by any means necessary! I repeat, this is NOT a drill! S-afe... -aces... H-ogwar... -inistry... Safe-" _The radio cut out, leaving a terrible, scratchy static sound in place of the Minister's voice.

I opened my eyes from my place on the couch, having been asleep just moments before. I immediately jumped up and started to panic, but remembered that my wife and son were already at Hogwarts; they'd left yesterday for three days to stay with her friend, so I was here alone.

"Um, damn- Winky!" I called out. In a second, a young, petite house elf appeared in front of me, looking timid.

"Master called for Winky?" She spoke softly.

"Please go get my bag off of my bed and bring it here. Hurry." I struggled to keep my voice calm so as not to scare her, and debated internally on whether or not to take her with me.

"Here, Master." She appeared again and handed me a small, black backpack full of clothing, a book, and a few potions. My wand was strapped securely to my forearm. "Is Winky coming with Master?"

I was headed toward the fireplace already. "Er..." I didn't know what to do. If she stayed, she would die. If she came with me, I would have to carry her- elves are notoriously slow runners- and we both might die. But she could be useful, and I knew she was my son's favorite playmate, as Astoria and I had not gotten around to giving him a sibling- if we ever would. "You know what, come on, Winky." I held out my hand for her.

She brightened slightly and skittered over to me. When she saw that I ment to carry her, she blanched. "Winky can walk, Master. Master does not need to-"

"Too slow." I mumbled, grabbing her and hoisting her onto my left shoulder. She fell slack as I threw the powder down onto the floo, and green flames engulfed us. We were spit violently back out of the upstairs fireplace.

"Master, was that supposed to happen?" Winky asked carefully.

"No." I all but whispered, standing up. "No, that wasn't supposed to happen..."

They'd closed the Hogwarts floo. Perhaps it was never open in the first place, but there was visibly no way to get there. We could try our luck apparating outside of the gates, but I would have been willing to bet you'd get trampled by the crowd that was most likely there.

"Master!" Winky flitted over to me and began to pull violently on my trouser leg. "M-Master..." She pointed to the window.

"Bloody hell." I whispered. There were three or four zombies tapping on my window with long, decaying fingers, and a few of them were throwing themselves against the door. I could see the wood began to splinter and the glass began to crack, so they knew I was in here and were trying hard to get to me. "Come on!"

Again, I hauled Winky onto my back, but instead ran up the staircase and up to the top floor. Once there, I heard the door crack open and the windows break- they were running toward me and my house elf. When I heard their feet hit the stairs, I knew there was only one way to go and make it with my flesh still covering my bones: through the window. I hoped they weren't swarming around in the back so I could at least get on the ground before apparating somewhere.

I ran towards the window that led to the roof just as I saw the zombies reach the top of the stairs. I slammed the window shut and glued the window shut with a spell, but I knew that wouldn't hold them for long. I crawled to the top of the roof and was spotted by two zombies still moaning on the ground. They growled and latched onto the vines with grew on the sides of my house, and begin to climb.

I looked around and several zombies were climbing my house like the other two, and I knew I would have to jump off of my roof and apparate before I hit the ground. And there was only one place to go where I knew there wouldn't be any zombies, for there was a lack of human flesh in the area.

The Forbidden Forest.

"Winky, hold onto my shirt as tight as you can." I got up and stretched my knees, preparing to do what only a suicidal person would. I didn't even know if you _could_ apparate while flying off of a house, but it was the only option I had.

"Master...?" Winky panicked after realizing what I meant to do.

"Don't let go!" I took off running as the zom is reached the roof behind me, several of them chasing after me. Winky's fingernails broke through the skin of my back as I took the last few strides and jumped off of the roof, beginning my descent down 5 stories to the ground.

I panicked and almost didn't make it, but focused at the very last second. My world began to spin and Winky and I disappeared, and I saw that several of the features had jumped off the roof after us.

I wondered if they were natural zombies or were people infected with the strain, unable to control their bodies and being locked away in their own minds by a virus. As Winky and I hit the ground in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, I suddenly felt very sorry for some of those zombies.

But if it was their lives or mine... They could jump off every roof in Scotland for all I cared.

* * *

**(Hermione POV)**

Rose and I leaned against a tree in the forbidden forest and cried. Rose cried out of confusion, for her Daddy had pushed her and then hadn't come with her. I cried out of loss and grief, for my husband was either dead or a zombie now and I didn't stop it from happening.

Rose didn't know to be scared. She was a child and had never heard talk of zombies, war, or violence. We made sure to never tell her about the war Ron and I participated in, but we knew she would as about it one day. I would now have to try to teach her how to defend herself- at least slightly- and in the future, how to take care of herself should anything like this happen again.

The Wizarding World would be irreparably damaged by this and it would take years to get everything back the way it was- if that ever happened- which meant Rose would grow up with this. She was young, only four years old,and might not remember a time when the world wasn't dark and infected. I felt sorry for my daughter, and I was especially glad the pregnancy test I took 4 weeks ago came up negative. I wasn't about to bring another child into this mess.

"M-Mummy-" Rose sniveled as she fisted my shirt. "I-I w-want Daddy!"

"I know," I cried, holding her tighter as she cried her little eyes out. "I do, too."

We sat and cried and tired ourselves out until we were both sniveling, red-eyed messes who didn't know where to go.

How would we get to Hogwarts? Was it still safe or had the zombies broken down the gates and infected the people inside?

What had become of my husband?

When I realized that we needed to move to prevent being attacked my an animal or something equally as terrible, I wiped my nose on my sleeve and stood up, settling Rose on my right hip so we could walk. I started going east, for I knew the train tracks towards Hogwarts would be in that general direction. If I could get out of the forest and onto the tracks, I could follow them all the way to Hogwarts, no problem.

I concentrated on the task of walking so as not to think about my lost husband or my fatherless daughter, and so I wouldn't start to cry again. I was going to have to remain strong for her, and for myself. We both would- and we were both going to need it.

"I love you, my sweet girl." I whispered to Rose, kissing her familiar red hair. I looked around at the dank, mysterious forest full of the unknown and held her tighter. "Always remember that, okay?"

"Okay, Mummy." She mumbled back.

I walked until I couldn't walk anymore and the sun was setting over the hill. It was almost dark- and therefore, we were vulnerable. I had the idea of climbing a tree for the night, then, and once we were there, I stuck myself to the tree and held onto my daughter. She fell asleep in my arms as I watched our surroundings, my wand at the ready in case I needed it. My bag was in the tree also, but I couldn't get to it. I didn't want to need to get to it.

However long this lasted... However long we had to endure this... I hoped it was quick.

* * *

**A/N:** _Early update! Yay! I am supremely busy and won't be ale to publish for the next few days, so here you go. I would appreciate a review from all of you- which I know won't happen, but eh, I can hope- as I very much enjoy them all. I reply most of the time, but for my guest reviewers, I encourage you to get an account. Not only is it frustrating for the author of the story you're reviewing, but for many others as well. That's all I have for this lovely Monday evening, and I'll just go lay in my bed for eight hours. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all very soon. **-Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28**_

**P.S.- **_Don't doubt the Dramione here. It's coming- they meet very soon and the story will be in full motion. Please go to my profile and vote on the poll- what are your opinions on guest reviews?_


	4. Chapter 3

_Welcome back to my house of horrors. Oh, and also, Happy Wednesday._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

**(Hermione POV)**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Incantations**

_**~2 weeks into the Plague~**_

* * *

_Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out._

I began to hyperventilate as I backed up, shielding Rose's eyes with my arm. She struggled and whined for me to let her see, but I couldn't- this was something she would remember, and when she was old enough, realize exactly how bad it was.

Lying on the ground, directly in the path Rose and I were taking to get to the railroad tracks, was a freshly severed hand with flesh ripped from the muscles and the bones sticking out of it every which way. There was no body, no head, nothing next to it- just the hand.

"Shit." I murmured, looking around.

"Mummy-"

"Quiet, Rose. Just be quiet for a little bit." I told her, and she obeyed.

If there was a severed hand, there was something that must have eaten or taken the person which it was attatched to. I knew there were creatures that roamed the forbidden forest at night- nocturnal animals, which made it safer for us to walk during the day- and some of them were carnivorous, but there were no documented studies of animals _eating_ people.

Which only left one species that would do something like that.

"Rose, we're going to go sit in the tree for a little while, okay?" I was already casting sticky charms on my hands and feet so I could climb the tree. If there was a freshly severed hand, there were zombies somewhere close. I didn't want either of us to be on the ground when they came back. When we were high enough in the tree and sitting on a thick branch, I levitated my bag of weapons up to us and pulled one of the semi-automatic guns out, loading it and putting it by my side. "Now, we're going to play the quiet game, sweetie."

"But I don't wanna play the quiet game!" My daughter huffed.

"Don't use that tone with me," I told her seriously. "Do you want to be punished?"

Her eyes widened. "No."

During the last two weeks, I had only had to spank her once, after she said a curse word and kicked a tree when she didn't want to eat what I had given her. I was letting some things go, given the circumstances, but I was not about to let her think she could do whatever she wanted and get away with it. This would end at some point and she wasn't going to be rude and ill-mannered when that happened.

"Then be quiet." She sat down and crossed her arms. I handed her a stick and cast a charm over it, turning it into a multi-colored toy ball. "Here, but stay quiet."

She smiled slightly and took it, tossing it around in her little hands. I took my gun in my hands and waited, not planning to use it unless we were spotted or the zombie(s) were in our way.

Sure enough, four zombies came trudging along, sniffing the air loudly and pushing each other. Once they spotted the hand, they each ran for it, violently shoving each other out of the way as they hissed a terrible, screeching sound. One of the zombies grabbed onto the hand and cackled when two of the others looked disappointed. One of the zombies, however, lunged at the one holding the hand. Eventually, it killed the zombie and took the piece of flesh for itself, daring the other two to challenge it.

Rose sneezed at that moment.

I grabbed her and covered her mouth with my hands, scooting us closer out of view. The zombies on the ground looked up and began to sniff around, instantly forgetting the single hand. I was sweating and struggled to keep my breathing silent, while my daughter had become scared and held onto me with an iron grip. In an effort to slowly move to the other side of the branch, my boot skidded across it and a piece of bark tumbled to the ground, alerting the creatures to our presense.

"_RA_!" It screamed at us, sinking its fingers into the tree in an effort to climb to us.

"Rose don't move!" I wandlessly put a sticking charm on her jacket and stood up, carefully setting her on a branch higher up in the tree. She stuck to it and was unable to move. "Cover your eyes and ears, okay?" She nodded and followed my directions.

I turned back around and grabbed my gun; the zombie was halfway up the tree to me, now. I took a single second to prepare myself for what I was about to do, aimed for the zombie's forehead, and pulled the trigger. It fell to the ground with a harsh _thud_ and stilled for a few moments, before it moved again. It was slower now, but angrier. I shot it in the forehead twice more and delayed it, but the other two had begun to club the tree.

"Wha-?" I was confused; Mr. Thomas had said a shot to the head would kill it. But, obviously, that wasn't true anymore. "Bloody hell!" One of them had reached my branch and grabbed at my ankle, but I kicked it in the face and it fell to the ground, getting back up again shortly.

"Incendio!" I pulled out my wand and shot a spell at one them, setting him and his shredded clothing on fire. He burned slowly and continued to come at us, as if the fire were just an annoying gust of air. I decided to try something different, aiming my gun for the eye of one of the zombies and pulling the trigger.

It fell from the tree and landed on the ground, remaining still. It did not get back up again.

"Ha!" I yelled in victory. I did the same with the remaining two zombies and held my breath for a solid five minutes before sighing in relief, willing myself to move. "Rose, are you okay?"

"Yes, Mummy." She nodded. "There was bunches of noise."

"I know, honey. I'm sorry you had to hear some of that." I kissed her on the forehead, willing myself to calm the hell down.

I was in shock. I knew that. We had almost just been killed by zombies and I'd had to kill all of them- I should have been crying or shaking or... I don't know. Anything but the relieved, shocked feeling that had settled in my stomach. It would probably catch up to me, but I wanted us to be in a safe place before that happened. We couldn't remain in the inadequate tree.

"Mummy, you're stinky." Rose sniffed me and cringed, telling me that I was sweating like a hippogriff in heat. Not those words exactly, but... I got the gist of it.

"Well you don't smell too good yourself, little miss." I chuckled.

"Nuh uh!" She huffed, crossing her arms. "I smell _princessey_."

I wasn't about to comment on how that wasn't a word, but instead, rolled my eyes at the little girl in my arms. She was just like her father- always something humorous to say.

_Oh, Ron._

I was suddenly sad again, so we fell into a strained silence as we continued our way through the forbidden forest. I had been shrinking my bag and putting it in my pocket when Rose wanted or needed to be carried, or I carried my bag on my bag when she preferred to walk beside me. I always held her hand and, when I did not, she was never more than a foot away from me. I didn't want anything to happen to her.

"Mummy, what's that?" Rose had stopped and was pointing in the direction of a large group of dark trees.

I registered what she was talking about and quickly scooped up my daughter, holding her tightly. We couldn't run, hide, or defend ourselves, because that would not go over well with these creatures. Nothing but surrender or friendliness would due for them.

"Shit," I murmured.

A centaur stepped into view.

* * *

**(Draco POV)**

"Master must be hungry," Winky said quietly, again trying to give me her quarter of the apple we had been eating. "Master can have Winky's piece of-"

"You haven't eaten in two days, Winky." I sighed again, looking her dead in the eyes this time. "Just eat the damn apple."

I was surprised when her bottom lip began to quiver. "Y-Yes Master."

I sighed. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. Just eat, alright? We'll find more food later." Winky nodded and quietly chewed on her apple as we sat on a branch in a tree.

It had been two weeks since the world- or, at least _my_ world- had been thrust into chaos. Winky and I had been avoiding zombies for a week by apparating to the highest branch in whatever tree was around. Eventually, the zombies would get distracted by a small animal or something of that nature and trudge away, or I would have to use a dismembering spell my father had taught me to kill them. It wasn't too illegal to use the spell- only a little bit.

"M-Master..." Winky's terrified voice hit me like knife in my stomach; I had never heard her so scared. I was so wrapped up in my own mind that I hadn't noticed that a zombie had been running towards us- It wasn't too far, now. If I had not been paying attention for two more seconds, I would have been zombie food.

"Shi-" I hurriedly took my wand from its holster on my arm and pointed it at the now too-close zombie. "Stupify!"

The zombie was hurled back as it almost grabbed my foot, but that didn't stop it for long. It was dazed, but got back up and ran for us again. Only this time, it ran straight for Winky.

"Diffindo!" A spark of purple flew out of my wand and hit the zombie in the chest.

It stopped and began to scream. I ran to Winky, roughly grabbed her arm, and pulled her to my side as the zombie's rotted flesh began to rip from its bones. It was in agony but still recognized that I had done that to it, so it ran after me when I started running. I felt it catch up to me and grab onto the corner of my jacket. Winky went flying out of my grasp as I tumbled to the ground, the zombie straddling me with its fists in the air. It was still screaming as its limps were slowly tearing from its body, but it smiled at me for the briefest moment and made to rip my arm off.

I closed my eyes in horror and defeat- I was going to die.

I suddenly felt the weight of the zombie leave my body, and after a second or two, I opened my eyes again.

"Holy-" I gasped and hastily crawled back from the body of the zombie.

Its arms and legs were severed by my spell, but I knew that wasn't what had finally killed it. No, there was- I think- an arrow sticking through its head. A slimy, greyish liquid oozed out of the creature's eyes and wounds.

An _arrow_.

Not a muggle arrow, even. This arrow had carvings of a language I did not recognize, as well as the names of several magical creatures. It was tinged with blue and I almost instantly knew it was meant to be poisonous.

But if there was an arrow, someone must have shot it or charmed it. Which meant... someone was close. Someone still capable of functioning. Someone alive.

"Hey!" I called out, getting to my feet. "Is anybody out there?!"

No one answered and I smacked myself on the forehead. I had just yelled, in the middle of a forest, and had undoubtedly alerted a few zombies of my presence. I had to leave, and quickly.

"Winky," I called for her and saw her carefully sit up not too far away from where I stood. "You alright?"

"I-I think so, Master." She rubbed her head. "Winky has a headache, but Winky will be fine."

"Good. We have to go." I walked in a wide circle past the zombie and picked her up, much to her chagrin. "Winky, be quiet. You're not walking right now, so stop fighting me."

"Yes, Master." She sighed.

I was about to start walking away when I turned back around and looked at that arrow once more. I set Winky down for a moment before walking back over to the zombie. I ripped a piece of my shirt off and wrapped it around the base of the arrow, slowly pulling it out of the zombie's head. Careful not to touch it as it was probably poisoned, I shrunk it and wrapped it tightly in the piece of cloth, tucking it into my pocket when I was finished.

I had a feeling it would be important.

* * *

**A/N:** _Finally on an updating schedule! Yay! Unfortunately, I'm going to leave you guessing on a lot of things until further into the story, such as the origins of the arrow. The next update will be in a day or two, as I want to continue Hermione's POV from where it left off, and then another regular update a week from today, or sooner, depending upon when I finish it. Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate a review. **-Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28**_


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